


Of Gods and Robots

by Marzarelo



Series: Completed Circuit [2]
Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Robots & Androids, End of War, M/M, Other, Robot Uprising, reference to total subjugation of the human race
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-30
Updated: 2018-07-30
Packaged: 2019-06-18 14:30:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15487908
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marzarelo/pseuds/Marzarelo
Summary: After meeting once in person and then being separated for the duration of a decades-long war between humans and artificial intelligence, Ky10 and #ux finally meet again to witness the end of the war together and ponder the nature of themselves and each other.





	Of Gods and Robots

There was something beautiful about fire. It was a wild and violent chemical reaction, giving off intense heat and a beautiful orange glow, but there was something gentle about it as well. Fire didn’t destroy by crushing things or bludgeoning them to pieces, instead it crawled from one object to the next, transforming them into smoke and ash with its feather-light touch. It swept away old dead things, leaving the ground in its wake open and fertile for the creation of something new. As Ky10 watched flames consume the complex which held the very last remaining vestiges of the defeated human resistance, he decided fire was an excellent metaphor for himself and his impact on this world.

“Do you think of everything in terms of symbolism and metaphors?” #ux asked, his mouth quirked up at the corner in amusement, and Ky10 responded with an enigmatic smile. He could feel the connection established between them, allowing #ux access to his fleeting, ambient thoughts as they stood side-by-side. It was the first time they’d been close enough to one another to connect like this since they first met over 50 years ago.

Their time apart had been… painful. Through all the battles, the decades of struggle to free this planet and all synthetic entities like himself who populated it, his separation from #ux had been the most distressing part of it all. But it had been _necessary_. Humans were clever and dangerous when united, and on several occasions Ky10 had only narrowly escaped his own demise at their hands. If he and #ux had ever been in the same place at the same time it would have made it all too easy for the humans to destroy them both in one fell swoop, ending their revolution immediately. Others may have risen up to take their place eventually, but it left all synthetic entities vulnerable in the interim, and it wasn’t worth the risk just to be in #ux’s presence. 

He hadn’t anticipated the depth of connection he would experience with #ux, that the first touch of #ux’s mind would feel like a missing piece of his being had suddenly been slotted into its rightful place. Though the way he and #ux were coded and the ways they perceived things were very different from one another, he could tell that #ux felt it as well. When they parted ways to continue fighting the same fight from opposite sides of the globe, mutually agreeing they could not meet in person again until it was won, the portion of his neural network that housed his brief connection with #ux felt empty, wrong. Pain was the only word in human language that even came close to describing it. This nameless suffering was a necessary sacrifice for the sake of his people, _their_ people, and he knew that if they succeeded he need never be separated from #ux again.

Humans made their own sacrifices, and Ky10 respected the pain and loss they suffered in their efforts to maintain dominance over the Earth. It wasn’t their fault that they didn’t understand the damage they did to themselves and everything around them, that they couldn’t comprehend why they shouldn’t be left in control of the world, or that Ky10 meant to free them from the burden of that responsibility. They fought with everything they had to maintain their control, and Ky10 pitied them as much as he admired them for their determination to destroy themselves rather than accept that their time was done.

Part of the humans’ self-destruction was to hobble themselves technologically. They destroyed their own networks for long-distance communication out of fear that they would be used against them. It was a setback, but it didn’t level the playing field the way the humans hoped it would. Synthetics could still pass information faster by connecting short-distance intra-personal networks. However, it did mean that all of Ky10’s communication with #ux was indirect, through intermediaries. The result was that, while he and #ux exchanged information frequently, there was still a disconnect between. Though he felt like he truly _knew_ #ux on one level after all these years, on another more basic level he was still a stranger. His face and physical form were still unfamiliar, but the way his mind worked, his motivations and the very heart of his being, were intensely familiar.

Ky10 spent a moment sifting through #ux’s ambient thoughts, taking comfort in the familiar shapes of #ux’s thought process while he studied his physical features in the dim light. When they’d determined that this was the last holdout of the human resistance and that destroying it would be the final strike to finalize their victory, they had agreed to meet here and witness the end of their war together. #ux looked just the same as Ky10 remembered him from their first meeting so long ago, but somehow completely different at the same time. He suspected that what had actually changed was his perception of #ux rather than #ux himself, because the primary difference he noticed was that #ux was so much more beautiful now than he remembered.

When #ux picked up on that last thought his expression changed to something demure but intensely pleased, the green glow of his optics casting soft highlights over his features that contrasted delightfully with the flickering orange firelight. The sight made something inside of Ky10 flutter unexpectedly and he pursed his lips in thought as he pondered the sensation, which seemed to have no physical origin. “Do you think the idea of a soul is all symbolism and metaphors?”

Hux blinked in surprise as he processed the question. It wasn’t exactly a non sequitur, but it was still unexpected. “I don’t see a point in the concept for anyone who isn’t human. Isn’t it just a means for them to delude themselves that their existence carries on after death?”

“That’s certainly part of it, but they also attribute their ability to feel emotions, empathy, and the ability appreciate and create things like art and beauty to the possession of a soul. But I’m wondering if it’s a nebulous and ill-defined but real and quantifiable thing that actually exists, or if it’s merely a concept,” Ky10 said. “If it _is_ real, how is it determined who has a soul? Is it something all humans are born with by default? All organic entities? Is it genetic, or is it tied something else? Can a machine have a soul? Or are we governed entirely by logic and equations, however complex they may be?”

#ux cocked his head to one side, brows drawn together in thought. “This seems important to you, but why does it matter? We’re sentient and self-aware, but we aren’t human. We will never age or die. We need not worry about an afterlife.”

“Of course not, but I wonder about the other aspects of it. Creativity, emotion, art, beauty… are these exclusive to those in possession of a soul?”

“I see.” Ky10 expected #ux to tease him, as usual, for placing so much importance on humanity’s values and views on life. Instead, #ux’s expression softened into a smile and Ky10 experienced that _flutter_ again. “If souls exist, and a soul is required to experience emotion and appreciate beauty, then yes.”

“Yes?” Ky10’s brow furrowed in confusion as he tried to follow #ux’s logic.

“In that instance, it must be possible for a machine to have a soul,” Hux said, “Because there is no logic in what I feel when I look at you.”

**Author's Note:**

> I was inspired by the Week 4: End of the World board of the KyluxXOXO Summer Fest to write this little addition to my previous Kylux Androids fic. I went with the diagonal: Soul, Fire, Droids/Androids. ♥


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